The FCC shouldn’t tighten rules for closed captioning...

The FCC shouldn’t tighten rules for closed captioning video clips delivered over the Internet before they've even taken effect, said NAB (http://bit.ly/ZSvtJc) and NCTA (http://bit.ly/1shfWwZ) in comments filed in docket 11-154 in response to the second Further NPRM on IP clip captions (http://1.usa.gov/1ooIsWB) that was issued alongside the IP clip captioning order (http://bit.ly/1xuDSgE). Portions of the order don’t take effect until January 2016. The FNPRM had sought comment on shortening the period of time companies have to caption live and near-live clips after they're posted online, applying the rules to “mash-ups” of previously captioned and uncaptioned material, as well as to third parties hosting content on their websites. “It would be arbitrary and capricious for the Commission to now alter the timeline for complying with captioning requirements that are not yet in force under the schedule the Commission very recently adopted,” NAB said. Consumer groups representing the hearing impaired, including the Hearing Loss Association of America, the National Association of the Deaf and Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, disagreed in a joint filing (http://bit.ly/1pWfOhA). By punting the stiffer captioning rules to the FNPRM, the FCC left in place “critical barriers that pose substantial confusion and deny equal access to consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing,” the consumer groups said. “We urge the Commission to act quickly to eliminate these barriers."